Danegrove Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

This is a good school. Outcomes for pupils are outstanding because their achievement is outstanding, they have an exceptional awareness of how to stay safe, fit and healthy, and they make an excellent contribution to the school and the wider community.

The school achieves its aim of developing 'secure, confident and successful learners'. Pupils' level of academic attainment is high and the school has the overwhelming support of parents and carers because they appreciate the excellent level of care, guidance and support given to their children. Comments such as 'a fantastic school with a great range of curriculum enrichment' and 'every child is treated as an individual and part of the school family' ar...e typical of many received by inspectors.

This excellent quality care is underpinned by outstanding safeguarding procedures, which are very robust and result in pupils feeling very safe at the school; this is reflected in their above-average attendance. Pupils have a good foundation for learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage and start Year 1 with above-average attainment. Between Year 1 and Year 6, pupils' progress is good and, by the end of Year 6, their attainment is high in English, mathematics and science.

Pupils make good progress because good teaching makes learning fun and the effective curriculum offers many stimulating experiences, including the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to enhance pupils' research and writing skills. There are outstanding procedures to involve parents and carers in their children's learning so that progress is enhanced at home. A dedicated staff team has high morale and energy.

Effective use of assessment informs the well-planned lessons. Pupils are increasingly secure in evaluating their own progress. Most pupils report that they know how well they are doing and they know their targets.

However, at the beginning of some lessons, the intended learning outcomes are not always consistently matched to pupils' abilities with the result that not all pupils are clear about what they are expected to learn by the end of each lesson. Teachers and teaching assistants provide good support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities who make good progress as a result. Effective leadership and management, including that of the governing body, have continued to secure high standards and the school has made good progress in tackling the issues for improvement identified at the last inspection.

Achievement is now outstanding, engagement with parents and carers is excellent, and highly effective partnerships in relation to well-being benefit pupils. Improved systems for tracking pupils' progress have increased teacher accountability and helped ensure that pupils falling behind are identified early and are given additional support. However, leaders do not use the pupil attainment and progress information rigorously enough to check on the achievement of groups of pupils and measure the effectiveness of the various whole-school planned initiatives on raising pupils' achievement.

Senior leaders and the governing body share an accurate view of the school's strengths and weaknesses, and the clear targets for future development amply demonstrate good capacity for further improvement and excellent value for money.

Information about the school

Danegrove is a much larger than average primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is above average.

The majority of pupils are from minority ethnic heritages and speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is well above average, but the proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs is average. The school is situated on two sites with the Early Years Foundation Stage and Year 1 pupils situated on the second site.

The school provides a breakfast club and play scheme which are managed by the governing body. The school has gained a wide range of awards including the Activemark, ICT Mark, Sportsmark and Healthy School Status. The school hosts local authority provision for pupils excluded from other schools.